We looked at the digital original series which grew most in demand in the US in July compared to June. Topping the rankings this month is Leverage: Redemption from IMDbTV. This is an impressive result for IMDbTV, an entirely free, ad-supported streaming platform. The show's surge in demand is driven in part by the fact that it premiered on July 9th. The show went from a low baseline of prerelease demand in June to an having over 14 times the average series demand in July. While platforms with the free, ad-supported business model have most often relied on licensing, this shows how they are not only expanding into original content but seeing success with these series as well.
Monsters at Work, from Disney+ was the show which saw the second largest month-on-month growth in demand in July. It saw greater growth than the other Disney+ original to make it into the top 10 fastest rising series, The Mysterious Benedict Society. Both are based on existing IP, so launched to existing fan bases eager for the series adaptation of a beloved movie and book series respectively.
Six of the top ten digital original series rising fastest in demand this month were from Netflix.
Masters of the Universe: Revelation, based on the He-Man universe, was able to leverage nostalgia to have a successful premiere, more than doubling its demand in July compared to June (similar to the what we see with Monsters at Work, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and even Looney Tunes Cartoons). Not only was this show one of the fastest risers this month, it achieved high enough demand to rank among the top 10 most in-demand digital originals for the week.
It was not just new series from Netflix such as Sex/Life (+209.2%) and Masters of the Universe: Revelation (+114.2%) that rose the most in demand. Returning series Never Have I Ever, Atypical, Too Hot to Handle, and Virgin River all returned with season premieres in July which drove large increases in demand for these shows.
Rounding out the top 10 fastest risers this month is Looney Tunes Cartoons from HBO Max. This is a great example of franchise synergies at work. The second season released all 10 episodes on July 8 2021, just ahead of the premiere of the movie Space Jam: A New Legacy. The interest in the Looney Tunes franchise driven by the movie helped lift demand for even long ended Looney Tunes content.
